The lean figure of the young man, the villain, walked around until he found himself in front of a streetside Japanese restaurant and decided to stop for a break.
Inside the simple, uncrowded restaurant, Kin sat looking at the delicious chashu ramen he had ordered. Although it wasn't much different from what he'd had before, it seemed strangely special. Maybe the world of the novel had an irrational way of making everything better. He took his time to savor the taste.
"Delicious!"
The moment the rich soup and chewy noodles touched his tongue, he couldn't help but exclaim. It was much tastier than he expected, like a flavor he had always dreamed of. He didn't often find food that suited his palate; usually, no matter where he ate, something always felt like it was missing. For a moment, he was thankful he had died in his old world.
At first, he thought he'd order another bowl. Honestly, the portion wasn't that big. If it were his real body's stomach, one bowl wouldn't be enough. But after eating halfway through, he began to feel full. He realized the body's original owner probably wasn't a big eater. Although he was a bit disappointed that he couldn't handle a second bowl, And the thought that he'd be here for a long time and was a rich young master with money that would never run out made him feel better. He figured he had plenty of time to expand this small body's stomach. With that thought, he continued eating in a good mood.
Kin's childlike smile was constantly in someone's sight.
There is young man who sat in a corner of the Japanese restaurant. He had noticed the other person the moment he confidently walked in. It didn't take him long to choose his meal, and the range of expressions on his face had surprised him greatly.
The owner of those eyes was Kiryu, a musician with shoulder-length blonde hair, tied back in a half-up style and bright eye-catching who was Phupha's closest friend. He had always supported and been aware of everything through the protagonist.
He had met Kin a few times before. Most of the time it was because Kin had shamelessly followed Phupha. But even in those few instances, he knew how bad-tempered and arrogant the other person was. Every time he was looked at by Kin, he felt like he was some uneducated street punk.
But now, he found that same arrogant young master sitting by the side of the road, happily eating Japanese food that cost less than a hundred baht[1], in a small restaurant that wasn't even in a mall. Kin was even smiling and seemed incredibly happy. It was a side of him he had never seen before.
Now, it looked like Kin was calling an employee over to pay. He mistakenly thought Kin would treat the employee poorly and felt sorry for them in advance. But that didn't happen. Kin spoke to the employee with a smile and even gave a slight bow, as if they were both thanking each other.
Kiryu was quite sure that even if he wasn't smart but he grasped things easily. The scene in front of him, compared to what he knew, made no sense. He couldn't help but pull out his phone and take a picture of Kin to send to Phupha, asking if this was really his best friend's husband.
[Phupa : Maybe you got the wrong person ?]
When his friend Phupha replied that way, Kiryu believed him. It was impossible for a demanding young master like Kin to be here.
Still, he had to admit that the other person was exactly his type. This was something Kiryu had never told anyone. No matter how horrible his best friend's husband was, the first time he saw him, he had fallen hard for that beautiful face. Of course, he was quickly pulled out of his dream by Kin's terrible words just a few minutes later.
Perhaps because it wasn't his problem, he never felt any particular hatred or dislike. So he quickly finished his meal and followed him out. If this was just a look-alike, maybe he had a chance to marry the beautiful man of his dreams.
"Excuse me!" He called out, making the other person turn sharply to face him. The look of surprise on his face made him even more confident that this wasn't his friend's husband. It was just a doppelgänger, even if he could barely find a single flaw to distinguish them from each other, even this close.
"Yes...?"
Kin looked at the man in front of him with intense suspicion. He knew that his face attracted people, especially Alphas who wanted a good-looking young Omega as a pretty accessory. When he saw him, he immediately recognized him as one of those types.
"I'm Kiryu." He smiled cheerfully, his face radiating the friendly atmosphere of a Golden Retriever puppy. Kin's eyebrows remained furrowed as he looked at the tall young man with shoulder-length, almost white-blonde hair with dark red highlights all over his head. He was so tall that Kin had to crane his neck to look up at him.
"Is there something you need?"
"Would you mind if I said you're beautiful?"
"I would."
He sighed almost immediately upon hearing the cringe-worthy line from a stranger he had never met before. Was everyone in a novel's world so cliché?
"My apologies!" the man immediately apologized, taking a step back so Kin wouldn't think he was being too familiar. He admitted that the action made him appreciate the other man a bit, but he still saw him as just a strange man who was probably a perverted Alpha...
Wait a minute?
"What did you say your name was just now?" The handsome face showed confusion, but he answered anyway.
"Kiryu."
".. Oh.. Kiryu..? Phupha's friend..?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Kin backed away several steps, immediately recognizing who the other man was. The name didn't appear often, but he was still a significant side character.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you, Kin! I just thought you looked similar!" The man's terrified expression made him speak loudly and clearly, as if he had forgotten they were in public. Kin had to rush over and cover his mouth with his hand.
"Keep your voice down! I didn't know you were this loud." The man with round eyes blinked at him, looking surprised. Kin knew he was acting differently from the old Kin, but that was because he wasn't the same person. Besides, he had no reason to be rude to the person in front of him. He knew the old Kin was mean to everyone, so acting like this would easily cause confusion.
Maybe I should pretend to be mean for a bit ?
With that thought, he took his hand off the other man and stepped back, taking a deep breath and letting it out. He tried to raise his voice, which still felt unfamiliar.
"...You... you better not try to be friendly with me. It's so annoying !" He tried his best, but he was so embarrassed he could have died. Instead of looking like the usual Kin, he just seemed even more strange.
He's sudden change, after just speaking so politely and then using rude words he wasn't used to, startled the other man and made him secretly amused at the same time. The young man took a small step back to keep his distance. As Phupha's friend, he knew better than anyone what his best friend's husband was like.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to bother you... I really didn't." Kin feigned a frown, adopting an annoyed posture, crossing his arms even though he wasn't sure why he was putting on this act. Still, a person couldn't change their personality overnight. It would be better not to arouse suspicion.
"Whatever. Just don't bother me again," Kin sighed and glanced at the other man from the corner of his eye. That handsome face was visibly dejected. Although he felt a little sorry for him, it couldn't be helped. He was afraid things would get even more annoying.
"Kin." Before he could take a step away, he was stopped.
"What?"
"Uh... see you around?"
"...." His expression tensed up, and the other man finally looked away. Kin turned and walked away, his head still full of questions.
See you around?
What did he mean?
Why would we meet again?
He tried his best to rack his brain for any plot relevance this man might have in the novel. It turned out to be none. It was just a sappy romance between two people. Kiryu wasn't even a second lead.
Speaking of which, was there even a second lead in this story? No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't remember anything. Why bother thinking about it and wasting his brain? He pulled out the wallet with a decent amount of cash, not to mention the numerous debit and credit cards he had.
No matter how many times he tried to remember the story, the other man was just the protagonist's male friend. He had no significant role other than being an occasional sidekick, popping up sometimes, saying something dumb like a clueless supporting character, and then disappearing from the plot.
His beautiful eyes scanned the money in his wallet with a variety of emotions. It was as if a bell rang in his head. He started to smile in a good mood. A wallet heavy with thousand-baht notes and debit cards was a godsend to a poor man like him. Even if he didn't know this place or the rules of the Omegaverse, who cared?
The money matters. Everything else could be figured out later. His slender fingers gently tapped the wad of thousand-baht[2] notes against his lips, even though he knew he shouldn't. He began to wonder where he should go to spend this money before he tried to find the way home.
[1] Thai currency.
[2] Thai currency.